April’s Top Games on Twitch: Dota 2 Is #1 After its First Major in 2017

Dota 2 topped April’s top 10 games based on esports hours watched on Twitch. The game took the #1 spot from League of Legends with 32.2 million esports hours watched, driven by the Kiev Major and Dota 2 Asia Championships. League of Legends saw a small decrease in viewership hours. Three weeks of its end-of-season playoffs generated less viewership hours than a full month of league matches. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive completed the top three.

Smite was the biggest riser last month, gaining four spots to take #7. The Smite Masters drove viewership for the game to 1.7 million esports hours. Heroes of the Storm climbed two spots thanks to the Heroes of the Storm Global Championships (HGS) playoffs. Rocket League entered the ranking at #10 with 1 million hours after this season’s first full month of the Rocket League Championship Series.

PLAYERUNKOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS Continues to Rise

The top three games by total hours watched on Twitch were unchanged from March, with League of Legends, Hearthstone, and Dota 2 claiming the spots. PLAYERUNKOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS gained one position to take #4. The MMO survival game has impressed since its release, rivaling the current top online titles. In April 46.1 million hours were watched for the game, just behind Dota 2 with 49.9 million.

Grand Theft Auto V made an impressive rise, gaining 18 spots to enter the top 20 at #7. Rockstar, the publisher behind the game, released additional content for GTA V Online in April, enticing viewers back to the game. Other big risers in the ranking were Smite, Minecraft, and Heroes of the Storm. Smite benefited from its esports viewership, Minecraft received a content update, and the HGS and version 2.0 of Heroes of the Storm sparked interest in the game. The only newly released game to make the top 20 was Outlast 2, a survival-horror title released in late April.

As big titles break into the ranking, they often drop out just as quickly. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Mass Effect: Andromeda all entered the ranking in March but were nowhere to be seen in April’s top 20.

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